The Dragonborn Hero
by Darridus
Summary: He had been defeated. Killed. The final battle had been lost to an enemy truly beyond his mortal power. But now, a second chance will propel him to a world of Heroes and Villains, where magic and science reign hand in hand as good battles evil. Will he be able to overcome the challenges of this new world, or will he perish just as he did in his own? Rated M.
1. Chapter 1 : Dragon Portal

So this was death. He had thought that it would be more…hellish, honestly. But no. No fire and brimstone for him, it would seem. Perhaps that was a blessing, but he was beginning to think that anything would be preferable to this eternal tedium. There was nothing for him to do here, except to wander aimlessly throughout the shifting and misty landscape, or admire the unnaturally colorful sky. It never seemed to shift from day to night, here.

He had never imagined that the afterlife would be anything like this. It seemed almost like a plane of Oblivion. But he doubted that. He had at least read descriptions of each of the realms of the Daedra, but this matched none of them. Besides, he had yet to encounter a daedroth of any kind, and certainly not a Prince. That suited him just fine. After all, one of their number was responsible for his current predicament.

That was long in the past, though. He had no idea for how long he'd been here, but he had wandered through much of the alien landscape of this place. It had doubtlessly been many, many years. Longer even than he had been bound in the service of that wretched Daedra, or even the Dragons. It made no real difference. He had never accomplished his goals. Never really ruled in his own right. It had nearly always been at the behest of one overlord or another.

And now his reward was to wander this godsforsaken place for the rest of eternity. Perhaps it was not exactly eternal torment and damnation, but it the idea of staying here forever rankled him greatly. He had long since discovered that there was no sleep in this place, no matter how he rested his eyes. These…doldrums seemed specifically designed to drive him insane with the sheer boredom.

He had tried to fester in his loathing, of course. Ranting in his head and cursing the name of the foul creatures who had wronged him…and even the betrayer of his own kin. But soon enough, he tired of such theatrics. Whatever hatred he had of those from his past life had long since burnt out until even the ashes of contempt had been swept away. His time here had done much to make him look at his life with an objective view. All in all, he could see that he had wasted far too much. His time here in this…place….dwarfed his time in Mundus, or even Oblivion.

Curiously enough, from time to time he would see wisps of light fleeting just out of vision, or at the corner of his eye. He could hear whispers and echoes reverberating throughout the halls of broken, empty ruins he stumbled upon. It was clear that he was not alone here. There were too many signs, but this had been going on ever since he first found himself first. He hadn't noticed it at first, when he was busy with his ranting and brooding. But it was equally clear that the residents of this strange land were _avoiding_ him for some reason. Perhaps his reputation preceded him.

As of this moment, he was wandering what appeared to be some sort of …hilly, region. Rolling grass stood motionless in a still world, with no breeze to ruffle the blades. It had been disquieting, at first, but by now he had gotten used to the stillness of this place. It was almost like a painting, frozen forever in a tableau that simply _suggested _life. He came to a cliff on the hill soon enough, which led down onto a dirt road. He simply continued down it, wandering as he had done for what must have been centuries now…

Until he heard noises. For the first time in many years, he was hearing something aside from the silence of this mysterious prison. He followed down the road in the direction of the noises, until he found himself overlooking a steep cliff down into what looked like rolling plains. He could hear the sounds of people just over the horizon. _People_. Their voices echoed for miles in the silence of this place.

Ignoring the danger, he jumped and skidded down the cliff. He feared that he was going to flatten himself on the way down, but managed to decelerate enough to roll upon his landing. Normally, he would've stopped now to catch his breath. But now was not the time for such hesitance. This was the first time he had encountered other humans in his time here, and would not lose this chance. Perhaps he might even…_escape_. Escape from this lonely and tedious jail the Daedra had inflicted him with upon his death. He may have been denied Sovngarde, but perhaps he had a chance to escape from wherever this was.

One of the many things he had noticed about this place was that he had kept his physical form. That was a great boon in his favor. After death, most men had to assume a ghostly mien to continue interacting with the physical plain. Not so with him. Even the spirits in the Soul Cairn maintained only a tenuous connection to the mortal plain.

He, however, was physical entirely. At first he believed that the Daedra only allowed this in order to further taunt him. Allowing him a physical body only to place him in an empty and incorporeal world. Now, though….even his magic remained intact. He no longer enjoyed the aid of the Daedra, of course, but he retained his own intrinsic power. For the first moment in his time here, perhaps it would serve him well.

As he got closer to the bluff which served as the horizon, he considered his options. From the sound of things, the people were in a fight of some sort. A battle, perhaps with one of the creatures that habitually avoided him. That should mean that the residents of this world at least believed them to be less powerful than himself. That was certainly good. Their enemy sounded like some sort of shrill beast, while they were clearly human as they barked orders to their allies. He also heard the sounds of what could only be magic. Bolts of lightning, and perhaps fire. A few small explosions. Rays of light emanated past the horizon and into the sky.

So, probably some cabal of wizards tore open a portal through Aetherius or wherever to get here. Perhaps they wished to bind some of the beasts here for research, or to serve as soldiers for them. He could work with that. As he finally reached the apex of the bluff he found himself both confused and astounded by the sight before him.

There were people alright, and their opponents certainly weren't human. Down in a pit of sorts below the bluff, surrounded by hills all around, there was a battleground. Four people were engaging what looked like… eyeball monsters. There were few other words to describe them. They were floating eyes, but different from the beholders. They had no limbs at all, and the eye was surrounded not by flesh, but what looked like earthy armor of sorts. It reminded him of the skin of the ash spawn that populated Solstheim. There were also several hulking, purple things. They seemed to be made of layers of leathery purple muscle, with spikes of bone protruding beneath them. They wielded simple equipment and blades made of similar material to themselves. Their weapons reminded him of the sword he wielded when in service to the Daedra.

He could see why the wizards would desire the creatures to power their armies. They were obviously created with combat in mind. Even the floating eyes had powerful magic. He could practically feel it oozing off of them. The mountains of purple muscle served a much more obvious purpose. They probably served a similar purpose to frost atronachs, but without a weakness to fire. Perhaps he himself could bind a few of them to his will, later.

Even more odd were the men and women who fought the strange creatures. There were four in total, and they bore raiment like none he had ever seen before. Two of them wore silvery, stainless armor. They had shining red visors of what looked like stained glass to shield their eyes, but otherwise completely encased themselves in their armor. They threw beams of light at the creatures from their palms. Even more strange, he sense no magic from them or their attacks. Even stranger were the other two, who wore white coats and similar red visors, but no helms. They seemed more wizard like than the other two, who were possibly an escort of battlemages. They pointing strange instruments at the creatures, but otherwise seemed to be avoiding the battle. He decided to do the same, as a few purple corpses already dotted the battlefield. They seemed to have this under control, so he would wait until they needed rescue, or some other opportunity presented itself to ingratiate him to the weird wizards.

"Subject Beta is yielding fascinating data." Said one of the wizards calmly to his compatriot beside him. The other nodded. "Indeed. I can't wait to get back to the lab to dissect them. I can see a promotion in my future out of this little venture". He could practically hear the wizards grin, even if he couldn't make out his features from here. The other two battlemages were just finishing off the last of the hulking purple monsters.

The wizard who had mentioned 'Subject Beta' now manipulated his instrument in some way, and their observer _shivered_ as a portal opened. A portal. Escape to the mortal world. He may not have recognized these strange wizards, but no matter. They were clearly physical beings like himself, and that was good enough for him. Finally, he could make it back to the mortal plane. Never before did he appreciate Mundus as he did now.

"Pack up the subjects for dissection. I want to get back to base and report this. I can't wait to see the look on Mulhearny's face when we tell him we've opened a portal to the _Shadow Shard!"_

Well, at least now he knew where he was, thanks to the wizard's lose tongue. He had never heard of this 'Shadow Shard' before now, but it sounded almost like a plane of Oblivion such as Coldharbour or Apocrypha. He waited for a moment as the wizards loaded up their research materials and corpses, waiting for the perfect oppurtunity. He crept up on them as they turned their backs to him, and the two battlemages headed past the horizon of the portal and the other two were about to enter it's precipice. By now he was almost on them, and was breaking out in a cold sweat as he bided his time.

_Soon...just a little longer...and I'll be back. Back in Mundus. Back on Nirn. Back in Tamriel..._

Just as the last wizard entered the portal, it began to visibly shrink. The moment was now. Instead of breaking out in a run, he stood up, and took in a breath of air that filled his lungs to capacity.

"_**WULD...NAH-KEST!**__"_

He shouted, and the world blurred around him. He felt the heat of the air rage as he zoomed into the portal at the speed of a whirlwind. He jumped in, and a flash of light enveloped his being. The portal winked closed behind him, and only the quiet emptiness of the Shadow Shard remained.

* * *

Dr. Leroy sipped on his coffee as he went over the procedures for the dimensional portal's transportation of the field team. A lot of science went into just the opening and closing of these things. Dr. Leroy led an entire team of dedicated technicians for the Portal Project. It wasn't prestigious at all, as Crey was keeping the whole thing hush hush. His movements were restricted to Crey property for the duration of the project, and he had been required to sign a binding contract with Crey.

But he wasn't stupid. This was a big career move for him. If he impressed the countess with his work here, he knew that he could go far in the project. Right now he was just sipping on coffee as he oversaw what looked like the first successful run of the new model. If everything worked out here, he could start the routine testing phase of the project and present his findings to Countess Crey next month. Dr. Abigail, his assistant, was working the tuning panel in the control room and Dennis monitored the power grid. Abigail was older than him, but didn't have nearly the aptitude he had for such advanced physics. Dennis was a just one of the many technicians that Crey had on staff for this project, but he was in charge of the mechanical aspects of the Portal. There were a dozen or so other scientists and technicians in the control room with him, overlooking the Portal in a balcony-like construct. Crey also had about three dozen security personnel on site, including six or seven here in the main Portal Bay.

Kowalski and Grimm came through the portal in a flash of light and immediately moved to remove their helmets. Grimm wiped his face from the sweat he'd built up just as Alaster and Bailey made it back. Dr. Leroy asked Dennis and Abigail for a status report.

"Looks all clear sir!" Abigail said with a smile. She had contributed a lot to this project, so she was elated with it's sucess. That was fine, as long as she didn't try to take any of his credit. Unfortunately, it was not to be.

"Uh, sir, you might want to take a look at this..." Dennis mumbled out loud. Sighing, Dr. Leroy made his way over to the monitoring station. If something went wrong, he wanted to be the first to know about it. After all, he would need to find a scapegoat soon if things went too badly. Still, he couldn't imagine what went wrong at this stage. The scientists and their materials were sucessfully transported from the Shadow Shard and back, even bringing a few trophies with them.

"What could have possibly happened?" He asked irritably.

Dennis just looked back at him with a strange look and a raised eyebrow. "Something's still coming in, behind them."

And just like that, Dr. Leroy felt the blood drain from his face. Something had followed them back from the Shadow Shard. Oh god.

"Abigail, call securtiy." He managed to gulp out.

"Yes sir."

* * *

Beneath the control balcony, The field team turned around suprisedly, as they saw a sight that made them break out in a cold sweat. The portal remained open, and a light flashed just before it powered down and winked out of existence. The lights on the sides of the portal turned from blue to red, and the overhead floodlights shut down with an audible hum as power drained from the Portal Bay. Grimm frowned. That only happened in states of emergency shutdown. He put a hand to his ear.

"Control, what the hell's goin' on?" He asked nervously. He tried to keep his cool, but Crey never did something like this unless there was a reall problem.

_'Be-Khhkk-Advise-Chkk-Inter-Ckhkk-ence-Kckk-Followed you from the Shadow Shard..." _

That last bit was enough to set him on edge, and he repowered his suit. He was about to put his helmet back on, but he caught glimpse of something standing in the center of the Portal Bay.

It was a man. He was wearing blue robes with some kind of armor on the arms, and some kind of weird squid helmet.

"You! Freeze!" He and Kowalski readied their palm blasters. "Hands in the air!"

"Eh heh heh...Ahhaha ha ha! Ha ha ha hah ha!" There was a chill in the air, and utter silence as they heard that laugh...

_Oh dear god no..._ he thought. _Not one of_ them

"Finally..." He said, after his fit of laughter subsided. He slowly raised his masked head, and found himself chuckling his way between words. "Finally, I have returned. Mora was a fool to think he could imprison me forever...he was a fool, for all of his 'forbidden knowlegde'. And now I'm free. Free to move, free to fight, free to kill...Free to seek my revenge. Listen to me!" he suddenly yelled, making the field team jump as they looked on in horrified silence and fascination. "Know this, _fools_, I have returned. I shall regain my power, I shall regain my strength. And nothing...nothing will stop me from retribution. I will have my revenge. Despair ye mighty Daedra, and behold! Miraak has returned!" and all Grimm knew was fire, as he could feel his face melt off and his bones turn to ash as a fountain of immolation jetted out of Miraak's hands.


	2. Chapter 2 : Dragon Fire

**"YOL...TOOR...SHUL!"**

Miraak felt the blazing heat, even through his mask, as his breath ignited in a wide arc before him. The two armored wizards had already been burnt to cinders by a double-dose of fireballs, so he decided to test out his breath a little on the two squishier looking wizards. Just as expected, his fiery shout made quick work of their unprotected forms. He watched as the flames tore away at their flimsy white robes and melted the metal visors to faces and fused into their skulls. When his shout concluded, their blackened forms had already fallen to the ground, charred beyond all recognition of their previous selves.

He then took a moment to familiarize himself with this new environment. Wiry metal wrapped around a dark room, with almost nothing to illuminate the place save for a few machines that had little lights on them. The place looked almost Dwemer, to his eyes, but with a uniquely human twist.

_It would appear that technology has advanced quite a bit since my departure from Nirn..._ He mused. It was a large chamber, filled to the brim with complex looking machinery and walls that seemed to be made from fine steel. Cables and wires were absolutely everywhere, connecting from machine to machine, or even creeping out of the walls. A dim blue light pervaded the room from the machinery, and a low hum could be heard breaking the silence of the air.

Or it was silent, until a cacophony of screaming and yelling came from the balcony overhead. As he turned his attention up there, he saw a dozen or so people running around like beheaded chickens, with one older looking man barking orders at everyone, and trying to calm them down. Miraak felt himself smirk beneath his golden mask.

"Experiment not going quite as planned, magi?" He ventured out loud, perhaps hoping to amuse himself for a moment. These people were clearly no threat without their battlemages to protect them, and he had made short enough work of them. The he had addressed merely glared down at him beneath his spectacles, and slammed his palm down on something outside of Miraak's view. Just as he prepared a lightning bolt for the impudent old wizard, a sheet of steel came crashing down from above the window shielding it from view. He cast the bolt at the sheet, only to confirm his suspicions as only a scorch mark came of it.

_Technology has certainly advanced at an astronomical pace, if these creations truly rival the Dwemer. I should be careful here, and make sure to avoid capture at all costs. It wouldn't do to escape that 'Shadow Shard' only to be imprisoned immediately due to my own carelessness..._

The metal sheets had also fallen down simultaneously on all of the other windows and doors in the room, of which there were painfully few. What had once clearly been an exit was blocked by a solid wall of steel, segmented in some places but hardy looking nonetheless. It would doubtlessly have held a more mundane mage, but these cretins clearly underestimated the First Dragonborn. He took a couple of steps back, and mentally readied himself. He merely hoped that his reserves of magicka had not been overly depleted during his time wandering the emptiness of the Shadow Shard...

He needn't have worried. He felt raw _power_ surge through the veins of his arms as he summoned forth the innate magic he carried in his soul into the physical plane. His arms acted as a sort of living transformer, and the magic manifested itself around him, taking on the physical characteristics of lightning as he prepared the spell. Magicka built up within him as he focused his power to his palms, stopping just short of the precipice of where his soul met the physical world.

Just like that, he opened the floodgates and the lightning burst through a hole in reality emanating from his hands. The deluge of magicka took on the physical characteristics of lightning as a veritable storm surged towards the gate that blocked his path. In an instant, the molecules in the slab of metal were overwhelmed and easily disintegrated by Miraak's lightning storm, melting through a second door behind the fist. Apparently, the whole thing was a circular chamber that also functioned as a doorway, with arcing metal gates that dropped from the portcullis to inhibit access.

All of these measures were for not, however, as Miraak flexed his destructive magic. It was good to know that he hadn't lost his touch after so many years with little practice. Magic was, after all, ingrained in the very soul of the mage. Cracking his neck from side to side, he casually strolled through the smoking and charred portal, still crackling red in a few places with piles of disintegrated molecules littering the once pristine metal floor.

Through the other side of the circular doorway, he found himself in a much larger hallway, made from the same gray-blue metallic material as the previous room, albeit much better lit. It was wide and spacious, but now that he was through the doorway he could hear a harsh noise that shrieked through the hall at regular intervals. After pondering on it for a few moments, he realized that it must be what passed for an alarm these days. He shrugged at the oddity of changing from perfectly functional bells or other magical alarms. Technology had really gotten carried away while he was gone. He made a mental note to familiarize himself with the new technology that had been developed when he settled himself in this new world. Normally he wouldn't care about being 'behind the times', but if his time in the service of Hermaeus Mora had taught him anything, it was the simple observation that Knowledge is Power. And if there was one thing that he truly desired, it was power. Power over himself, his own destiny. His pursuit of power had defined his entire adult life, which at this point spanned many millennia. He wondered if there was anyone alive in whatever age this was that still remembered the name 'Miraak'.

Was he a boogeyman, remembered only in stories and fairy tales? Used by parents to frighten naughty children into eating their vegetables? Or, worst of all prospects, was he forgotten by the world, without even a passing footnote of him in the histories? Well, either way. the world would soon recall the First Dragonborn, for good or for ill.

He had made his way down the hallway, and found himself at the base of a staircase that presumably led to the balcony where the little wizards were probably still holed up. Perhaps he would interrogate a few of them, or make himself a fresh crop of minions. Mora's gift was still with him, after all, and he was loathe to waste an opportunity to acquire some new lackeys.

The blast door fell as easily as the first, with a well placed spell of lightning storm. As the afterimage of the potent blast faded from his vision and the smoke cleared, Miraak walked through the smoldering doorway to see the interior of the balcony. There were numerous desks with strange machinery strewn about them, and boxes with what looked like opaque windows grafted to them. He shrugged. There would be sufficient time to discover the purpose of the strange objects in here when he interrogated his new prisoners.

Speaking of them, he surveyed the room for signs of movement. There was none, really. All of the mages cowered beneath desks or behind heavy equipment. The old man who had obviously activated the insufficient but annoying security measures was himself hiding behind a huge slab of metal with numerous buttons and more of those opaque windows on the table-like surface. Perhaps it was used as a control panel of the sort he had occasionally happened upon on his visits to Dwemer ruins. He made his way over there with deliberate nonchalance, and seized the frail, elderly mage by the back of his collar, keeping one hand at the ready with a fully charged lightning bolt, feeding it a constant stream of magicka from the depths of his soul to keep up the charge as a miniscule amount dispersed into the air around his palm, thus producing a visible 'ball' of lightning huddled in his palm.

"Magi. I have some questions for you, and it is in your best interest to answer them." He stated simply to the now visibly shaking mage. If his mere presence truly caused such terror in their hearts, then it should be easy to extract the information he required. Still, he would retain his caution. They may be ordinary mages or otherwise, but he had no idea what sort of weapons or spells could have been invented by now. The last thing he needed was a steam cannon blast in the back.

The mage then put on a determined show, possibly hoping to inspire his colleagues to do similarly.

"I have nothing to say to you. This is a private facility and you have murdered our research team. When security gets here, you'll be taken care of easily enough." He finished with a tone of defiance.

As he did so, one of the junior mages suddenly vacated from his cover and bolted to the exit. However, he wasn't quite as fast as Miraak's warrior reflexes. With a deft movement, he aimed his charged palm towards the coward, and let fly a bolt of lightning from his hand. It took less than an instant for the arcing bolt to strike true it's target, and Miraak watched in quiet satisfaction as the fool was almost immediate disintegrated into a neat pile of ash for his efforts.

"Would you care to reconsider your previous sentiment?" He asked in a calm monotone. "You may either answer my questions or not. If you choose the latter, I will simply kill you and ask one of your more pliable colleagues." He waited for a moment or two as he saw the man break out in a cold sweat. But his will held firm, as he remained silent. Miraak made a show of sighing audibly, then prepared another bolt of lightning. At such close range, the results should be particularly spectacular, and just as convincing to the rest of the mage's cohorts. They remained hidden in their spots, painfully aware of the fate that befell the runner.

"W-wait!" The mage he held exclaimed as his lightning became visible in his palm once again. "A-all right! I'll do it! J-just tell me what you want to know and I'll tell you everything!"

Miraak smirked, not that anyone could see it. He merely stopped the flow of magicka to his left hand and let the sparks of lightning disperse harmlessly.

"A wise decision." He commented truthfully. Things would be so much easier if people simply learned to obey those who were obviously more powerful than themselves. "First, you will tell me what era this is."

He waited for a few moments as the mage seemed to be thinking of a reply, only to be disappointed. "I..I'm not sure what you mean. It's...the modern era? After the death of Christ? After the fall of Rome?"

Miraak scowled. He had no idea what any of those things were. "That doesn't tell me anything." This was frustrating. Could Nirn have abandoned the Alessian calendar while he was imprisoned? Perhaps a different line of questioning was in order. "Who currently rules Tamriel?" That should at least give him something. Unless...

"I-I don't know. I've n-never heard of any place called Tamriel..."

What? That seemed unlikely. Tamriel was the largest continent on Nirn. No one has simply 'not heard of it'. He refused to believe that. Although...the mage was certainly scared enough of him. He doubted the man was lying. He was starting to get suspicious. He sincerely hoped that his suspicions proved unfounded.

"Do these words mean anything to you? Nirn. Lorkhan. Masser. Secunda. Tamriel. Yokuda. Atmora. Akavir. Pyandonea." He was met with a blank stare from the man in his grip "...Oblivion?" And recognition, now.

"Oblivion? I-it means...complete destruction? Ending? Nonexistence?" The man tried to desperately answer, hoping to save himself.

"No." Miraak replied. This was certainly worrisome. He had mentioned all of the continents of Nirn, and it's two moons. The fact that this man didn't recognize them could mean only one thing.

"Tell me...what is the name of this world?" He asked quietly, awaiting the man's response.

"It's E-Earth. The planet Earth. It's the third planet from the sun in our solar system, and it has one m-moon, Luna." The man babbled forth all of the trivia he could think of his homeworld.

"Enough." Miraak intoned. Earth? What kind of name for a planet was that? He supposed it made some sense, being the name of the ground they walked on. 'Earth'. It just seemed so...uncreative. But that was besides the point. He was clearly not on Nirn, even if he was in Mundus. He cursed to himself. No Tamriel, no Solstheim. If the man truly hadn't heard of Oblivion beyond it's textbook definition, then he probably knew nothing of Daedra either. Miraak cursed. It would seem that Mora was beyond his grasp, even now. To be so close to vengeance, and yet so far.

He decided to focus on the task at hand for now. First order of business...

"What is this place?" he asked, gesturing around the room to make his meaning clear.

"It's uh...it's the Crey Research and Development Portal Project. We...we were t-trying to open a portal to other d-dimensions to gather rare materials and research data...to be able to develop better technology...R-right now, we're in Crey Laboritories."

Ah. So they were a research institute, not unlike the College at Winterhold or the Mage's Guild. It would seem some things were universal.

"Very well then..." He said. Effectively stating that he had heard all that he required. "Who is your ruler? The leader of your society. What is your nation called?"

The elderly mage looked confused for a moment, and just continued babbling out an answer. "W-well, we're in the United States of America, i-in Paragon City. R-rhode Island...our leader is President G-george Sears..."

Miraak had never heard of any 'President' before, but he supposed it was just some fanciful title that dictators and tyrants often called themselves. Or perhaps it was merely some title such as 'King' or 'Emperor'. No matter. He would usurp him and take over this nation in due time. But from what the old mage had said, this was an island country, part of a greater nation known as 'The United States of America'. So...it was probably a province of some sort, paying liege to a greater overnation, much like how his native Skyrim had become a mere province in Talos' empire. And they were apparently located in somewhere called 'Paragon City'. This 'Rhode' would have to be a fairly large island then, if there were multiple settlements and at least one city. Perhaps he would carve out a kingdom here for himself as he devised a way to enact his revenge against Mora. But he would have to gather more information about the political situation of this world before he did anything hasty.

"I see." He said as he released his captive. His usefullness was now at an end. He would interrogate others, later. It would be good to corroborate the elderly mage's words from different sources. But he could see that these miserable excuses for mages would be of no use to him, even as servants. He would simply dispose of them now that they were of no further use.

But, as he prepared another round of lightning bolts to begin the purge of these cowardly cretins, he heard an explosion from past the entrance to this control room. Momentarily distracted, the elderly mage was able to escape to a farther corner of the room before Miraak could execute him. Looking over to the entrance, he could see several more of the armored battlemages had broken through one of the metal shield barricades from further down the hall. The charged into the room throwing beams of light around liberally. It would appear that today's battle had only just begun...

* * *

Jessica Megan Duncan, known to the public at large by her alias Ms. Liberty, frowned as she received a message on her police scanner. It was a priority alert set up by the PPD network, used to inform heroes about noteworthy super-activity in whatever district they happened to be in. What was unusual was the security level attached to it. Right now she was on a routine patrol in Skyway City, hovering at roof level above the Stevenson Apartment Complex. So far she had busted a Superadyne deal between the skulls and the trolls in the Astral District, and broken up a few muggings. A relatively dull night, for her.

Now, though, she was reading a priority alert on one Crey Industries Research Center, a little out of the way subsidiary for Crey. She frowned. The reason she was being called in for this was because Crey had been drawing truly impressive amounts of power from the city's energy grid, which was suspicious in and of itself. What really clinched it was the sudden cutoff of power drain from the rest of the grid. Not only the huge drain on the grid, but _all_ power entirely. The lab was on full blackout. To top it all off, there had been complaints of explosions by bystanders outside the building, and smoke could be seen billowing from the building.

It was exactly the excuse she needed to go investigate. Still, it was a highly protected Crey Lab, so stiff resistance was anticipated. That was why the security level was high enough to warrant her attention. None of the other heroes on patrol in the area were experienced enough to handle something like this. Besides, it had been awhile since she and Mynx had worked together by themselves.

She found Mynx's frequency and dialed up the number on her scanner. "Kat! Do you read me?" She asked into the device.

Just then, the face of Katherine Stevens, alias Mynx, appeared on the screen of her wristheld police scanner. She had red hair and slighly feline features, with slitted yellow eyes and sharpened canines. "Loud and clear, Meg! What's up?" She tilted her head curiously.

Straight down to the point, Ms. Liberty answered in a businesslike tone. " Theres been a disturbance at a Crey lab here in town. It looks like one of their experiments went the wrong way and started a fire. If we're quick, we might be able to finally find some kind of evidence on them before their clean-up crews show up."

The feline heroine grinned savagely. "I like the sounds of that! They've been messing around in this town for long enough with all of their lawyers and pet politicians. Where do you want to meet up?"

Ms. Liberty checked her police scanner's map function. It looked like Mynx was already closer to the labs than she was. "I'm sending you the coordinates to the lab now. You're already in that area, so you should go in and scout the place out. I'll catch up to you as fast as I can. Remember, this is a once in a blue moon opportunity to finally catch Crey with her bony fingers in the cookie jar. Speed in the name of the game."

Mynx took that time to comically salute her friend. "Roger that, Ms. Liberty! I'll try to save some chrome-heads for you!" With that, she signed out and Ms. Liberty's police scanner one again displayed the regular band. Closing it down, she flew out in the open night air, hurrying to catch up with her friend and comrade to finally get some solid dirt on Crey.

* * *

Piles of ash were strewn about the hallway in huge mounds as electricity flickered from short-circuited pieces of advanced armor. Miraak had made short enough work of the foolish Crey soldiers. There was little doubt as to their allegiance, with the gigantic stylised 'C' he had seen emblazoned on their armor. It matched the emblems that dotted the research facility in a few places. He had also managed to dispose of a few of the cowardly mages he had been interrogating, but a few managed to slip away during the chaos of his battle with the Crey Battlemages and the potshots he had taken at some of the fleeing mages.

Now, he was making following the path he had seen a few of them take. It was doubtlessly towards the exit, and he was eager to see this new world of his. The incessant ringing of alarms throughout the facility was also irritating on his nerves.

He had needed to blast his way through a few more security doors, but he eventually came to what he imagined was an entrance lobby of sorts. two flights of stairs led directly upwards to an open set of doors, and he could see the night sky from here.

Just as he was about to make his getaway, he was impeded. He sensed...a presence, behind him, and swiftly turned around. He found himself face to face with two young women, dressed in outlandish, colorful clothing. Now that he saw them, he could see that they had obviously just emerged from a side passage he had to then ignored on his way towards the exit of the building. One of them, dressed in a skin-tight purple suit with what looked like stripes decorating it regarded him quizzically. She was also wearing a hair band clearly designed to resemble cat ears. Miraak felt his eyebrow raise at the sheer absurdity. She regarded him with an almost cat-like curiosity.

The other young woman was wearing an equally revealing dress that didn't come down nearly far enough for a proper lady, in Miraak's opinion. It was colored in a cascading hue of red and blue, blending together in the middle. She wore a similarly colored mask, along with white gloves and boots. She also wore golden colored pauldrons and a golden belt, which held a short-sword she had yet to unsheathe. She had flowing blonde hair and sky-blue eyes. She regarded him carefully, with much more caution than her companion.

Miraak didn't know what to make of these two, but his instincts told him not to immediately alienate them by attempting to murder them. They were clearly not cut of the same cloth as the mages he encountered so far in this facility, nor could he sense true fear of him in their mien. Caution would be best in this situation. After all, the last time he had tried and failed to kill a woman with dubious motivation, he had been cursed to walk the empty plains of the Shadow Shard for centuries. Not a mistake the brooks repetition, given the dumb luck that had been required for his return to Mundus.

"...Who are you?" He said nothing. He was thinking of an explanation that would be suitable to excuse his presence here, without being sufficiently damning to land him in their bad books. After all, he had killed several of the Crey soldiers and mages here. He had no idea of their relationship to these two eccentrically dressed young women, but he didn't really feel like taking that kind of risk. So he just stood there, motionless.

The blonde's scowl deepened. "What are you doing here?" She ventured, never once taking her eyes off of him. The other girl was also staring, but she seemed fascinated with his perhaps alien appearance. After all, perhaps their manner of dress was normal in this world, and he was the one wearing strange garb.

He decided that it would be best to answer the girl's question plainly, if only to buy time to formulate a decent excuse, and to perhaps gain some information of his own.

"I was transported here through a mystical portal...created by the men who operated this place." That merely caused her to raise her eyebrow as well, and the other girl to don a surprised look.

"...And where exactly did you come from? Sorry if I'm being rude, and I don't mean to imply anything...but you look sort of like some people I know who're on the wrong side of the law around here."

Well that was interesting. Did she mean there were other Dragon Priests in this world? That seemed unlikely. If that were so, she would not have bothered to open a dialogue with him. She would have simply chosen to fight or flee, given the temperament of his former brethren. It was far more likely that he only possessed a passing resemblance to whoever she was talking about. From the way she phrased it, he could surmise that she was a law enforcer of some kind, and he resembled a group of bandits or some such. Dragon Priests were not so low as to stoop to petty crime or the like, even in pseudo-undeath.

And that elderly mage he had interrogated had mentioned that they were in a city...Paragon City. It would hardly be unlikely for the local guards to investigate a disturbance such as the explosion that the armored battlemages had used to penetrate through their own metal barriers. There were also a few fires around the building from the ensuing battle, which he had not bothered to put out with his frost magic. Perhaps that had drawn the guards here. He cursed his carelessness.

Still, it was time to focus on the matter at hand. It wouldn't do to get himself in trouble with the law so soon after his arrival, in the middle of a city of unknown technological advancement. Perhaps he could blame the deaths of the mages on their own misadventure, rather than by his hand. Judging by the existence of a personal guard force and the dubious nature of their little portal experiment to the Shadow Shard, he doubted that the work done here was _strictly_ legal...

He supposed that he could simply tell them the truth of his identity. Since they weren't on Nirn, they could hardly be aware of his less than stellar track-record with obedience to authority...

"I am Miraak, the First Dragonborn. I was investigating the portal opened from this world to my own...but I was captured by the men who created the portal...and brought here for some nefarious purpose." He could see recognition light up the girls' eyes, and could tell that they had bought his clever lie.

"I-I see." The blonde girl stammered out with wide eyes. She seemed at a loss with how to deal with the situation before her. The other girl simply looked on in awe.

"Wow! So you're some kinda dragon dude from another dimension? Cool!" She smiled at her seemingly astute deduction, as Miraak rolled his eyes beneath his mask.

"...Indeed. The destruction here was caused by my escape from their imprisonment. I turned the tables on them, but I fear the fires that ignited from our confrontation may have spiraled out of control. I fear they may soon engulf the whole of this place." He said, feigning concern for the welfare of their fair city, and this miserable excuse for a mage's laboratory. It would be best to ingratiate himself with the local authorities, if he could. After all, it was easier to betray those who already trusted you.

"Right. the fire!" Nodded the blonde woman, regaining her composure. It would seem that she took her duties more seriously than her ally. "Listen, we need to deal with this before the fire get's out of control" Indeed, the flames had already engulfed the majority of the building, and much of the hallway. He could see buildings silhouetted against the night sky outside of the exit. It would doubtlessly cause a lot of damage if the whole building ignited. It would probably spread to the surrounding area, like some kind of urban wildfire. The thought of guards forming a line of men and bringing in a woefully inadequate amount of water by the bucketful from the nearest well or river to fight the fire was so droll he had to will himself to suppress a surge of incredibly suspicious chuckling. Then again, these people obviously had advanced technology. There was a decent chance that they had developed some machine or invention to quickly stop fires of any size, as the women before him were concerned but hardly panicking.

The blonde girl looked at him with a serious expression. "I know that this isn't your dimension, and you aren't here of your own free will, but I need to know if there's anything you can do to help control the blaze..." She looked pointedly at the raging inferno building up down in a huge chamber that led to the portal room. It contained several enormous columns, and used to contain a second floor before it melted down to ground level. Parts of the roof had even caved in to let in portions of the night sky when there were holes in the billowing layer of smoke. Miraak absently noted that there was no aurora here.

"We can't stop a fire of this size on our own" She said, and the other girl nodded with a worried look on her face. "The fire department in probably on it's way, but I don't see them getting here in time. This place is right next to a few low-rent apartment complexes..." She mused for a moment. "Damn Crey. There's no way she had zoning for...for...for freakin' Dimensional Portal machines!" She gripped her face in frustration. "Damn it, lives are on the line!"

Well...this was a most fortuitous oppurtunity. Not only could he destroy the evidence of his crimes, but he could ingratiate himself with the locals at the same time. Like striking two cliff racer's with a single bolt of lightning. This was almost too easy.

"Understood." he intoned neutrally. "I'll handle this. Wait here."

She seemed surprised by his confidence, and widened her eyes. "A-are you sure?" She asked skeptically. The girl in the purple suit looked even more curious than before.

"I am certain." He replied.

With that, he brushed past them and they looked on with great interest. He made his way into the inferno as there was sufficient room through the hallway, even counting the fires. As he made his way into the center of the flames, he prepared himself mentally. he had walked into the center of the broken room, and stood atop a piece of collapsed ceiling. The roof was covered in flames and and the walls had all but melted in the intense heat.

Closing his eyes, he reached deep within his soul to the well of magicka within. He summoned it to his reality once more, and felt power ooze into his veins as the magicka emanated from inside of him. Now that the magic was once more in the physical world, he prepared himself for the transformation. He had to time this just right, or the flames wouldn't be doused. From his palms, he let fly his magic into the physical world as his will transformed it to the nature of _ice_.

Twin storms of ice, whirlwinding through the room and weakening the fires. Flames dispersed, and molten steel hardened into black rock. But the blaze was not yet finished. The roof was still covered in them, but his central location granted him access to the whole of it through the caved-in ceiling. His very soul was drawn in through a single breath, and he felt the dragon within him stir.

**"FO...KRAH-DIIN!"**

Frost, cold, freeze. With the power of his dragon's soul, these words were given life as his shout turned to ice in the air around him. He could feel the chill even through his thick robes as the very air was cooled through the power of his _Thu'um_. He held the shout, and made a full circle turn as he aimed towards the roof. He watched as the flames were snuffed as his icy breath coated the roof in sheets of ice. Blazing light dimmed as he the flames died out, and cold permeated the air as he ran short of breath just as he completed his circle.

After a few moments of rest from his intensive burst of frost breath, he made his way back to the women he had left waiting at a leisurely pace. When he found them, they were properly impressed with the power of the First Dragonborn. Their mouths were gaping open, and their eyes were full of awe at the power he had displayed. It was nice to finally be respected by the lesser beings, as was right for a Dragonborn. Still, he had better not mess this up with gloating. A nice, humble hero was met with a warmer reception than one who dripped arrogance like a musk.

"It is done." he said simply, hoping that he hadn't let how pleased he was with himself slip in through his voice.

If he had, they hadn't noticed. "Th...that was amazing! I've never seen someone project ice like that! Are you an ice-elemental wizard?" Asked the girl with the cat-ear hair band eagerly.

"I am well versed in many disciplines of the mystic arts." he stated, with a touch of mystery in his voice, before reminding himself that now was possibly not the best time for such theatrics.

"You're certainly a great wizard." Agreed the blonde girl. "That was really impressive." She smiled pleasantly. "We would have been in some real trouble if you hadn't been here." She nodded.

"Unfortunately..." Miraak began. "The building had already collapsed over the Portal Room. I doubt you'll be able to salvage anything from that wing." he informed them, trying to sound disappointed. He refrained from mentioning that his ice storms had specifically targeted the support beams of that section of roof last, in order to allow them to collapse before dousing the fires.

That certainly dulled their enthusiasm, but the cat-eared girl remained chipper. "S'okay. At least we managed to save the neighborhood!" She smiled good-naturedly, and patted her friend on the back.

However, the blonde just sighed, and contemplated the ground with a sad look. "_We _didn't save anyone, Mynx, it was all Miraak, here..." She was right of course, but Miraak remained silent, as he waited for her to come to terms with her inadequacies.

"Oh!" She suddenly exclaimed, with and she became wide eyed again until finally adopting an embarrassed look. "Sorry...we never introduced ourselves did we?" They certainly hadn't. Quite rude, in his opinion, but he merely nodded. "This is Mynx." She gestured to the cat-eared girl, who waved a _clawed_ hand at him. "And I'm Ms. Liberty."

So, Mynx and Ms. Liberty. Odd names for guards, but this _was_ an entirely different world. He supposed it wasn't nearly as alien as Apocrypha had been.

"Listen, I was wondering..." She said after awhile. "You don't have any way home, right?" He nodded his assent. Perhaps...

"I was wondering if maybe you would want to come back to HQ with us for the night. It's pretty late, and you probably won't find a place to stay before morning." She nodded to herself, having made up her mind. "Just think of it as thanks for saving the neighborhood!" She smiled, and began to turn away. "Just follow me! And try to keep up..." She said in a tone he recognized as good natured teasing. Much to his surprise, she took off the ground and _flew_ into the air. Huh. It would appear that while she may not possess frost magics, she had mastered an equally impressive ability. He made to follow them, and the cat-eared girl turned to face him. "Yeah, and you can meet the others, too!" She smiled with a cheshire grin. He tilted his head quizzically. "We're a team of superheroes!" She explained, acknowledging his unspoken question. "The Vindicators!" she extended her hand, making a 'V' sign with her index and middle finger.

...

Super Heroes?


	3. Chapter 3 : Dragon Magic

Miraak found himself in wonder as they made their way to the headquarters of the Vindicators. That was the name of the organization the two young women he had encountered in the Crey facility belonged to. Apparently, Ms. Liberty was in fact their leader.

When he had heard that he almost couldn't believe his luck. He had managed to make a positive impression on the head of a major military organization already, not a few minutes after his escape from that horrid dimension called the Shadow Shard.

They had taken something called a mono-rail to a different part of town, known as Founder's Falls. The neighborhood that they had left was called Skyway City, a major manufacturing and industrial district. Founder's Falls was more focused on finance and government. He had gained a wealth of information on Paragon City during the ride there, and found himself distinctly impressed with it.

For one thing, it's sheer scale was almost mind boggling. From the descriptions patiently given by Ms. Liberty and Mynx, Paragon City could've held ten Windhelms within it, with room to spare. He was skeptical at first, but a quick look out of the window disproved him as he saw some of the truly massive neighborhoods.

Another thing he noticed were the extremely conspicuous walls that divvied up the city. They were enormous constructs, and they seemed to be reinforced with some kind of magical barrier. When he asked them about it, their moods took a turn south. They explained that they were the "War Walls" constructed to divide up territory within the city during something known as the Rikti War. When they gave a basic description of the conflict, he was distinctly reminded of the Oblivion Crisis in Tamriel. Daedra warping in to conquer the world with a nearly endless stream of troops and war engines, seemingly without warning. He had been in Apocrypha during the events of the Oblivion Crisis, of course, so he really couldn't claim to understand what they had gone through.

He quickly changed the subject when it became clear that it was a sensitive topic for them. Ms. Liberty in particular seemed agitated by the discussion. He asked them to tell him more about the Vindicators, and their role in Paragon City.

"We're a team of heroes based in Founder's Falls, but we operate pretty much wherever we're needed. Most of our members are actually the sidekicks or former sidekicks of Freedom Phalanx."

Miraak simply stared blankly at the girl. She had mentioned several terms that he sensed were important, but he had no context to draw conclusions from. He had no idea what 'sidekick' meant.

Sensing his confusion, Mynx decided to get a word in and elaborate. "A sidekick is like...an apprentice. Our team is made up of 'em, since we decided to prove that we're ready to strike out against the baddies on our own!"

Ah. Like apprentices. So...he was dealing with the apprentices of the more experienced protectors of this city. So...that left the 'Freedom Phalanx'.

"Freedom Phalanx is the most experienced and powerful group of heroes in Paragon City, or America, really. My grandfather, Statesman, is their leader." Ms. Liberty continued with a hint of pride.

Well. That was a useful piece of information. These children should really be more careful with that sort of thing. Miraak supposed it just went to show that he had earned a decent measure of their trust. He nodded his acknowledgement, satisfied for the time being. Unfortunately for him, the same could not be said of the two Vindicators.

There was an awkward silence for a moment, until Mynx abandoned the pretense of tact and asked him what her friend was wondering.

"So...what about you? What'd you do where you come from?"

Miraak paused for a moment. He would have to come up with a simple, easy lie. Obviously he couldn't tell them the truth in this case. After all, he doubted they would be pleased to hear about the..._problems_...he has had with authority figures in the past. However, in his long life he had discovered many things about the niceties of political maneuvering and bandying of words. One such observation was that the best lies contained within them a kernel of truth.

"I was a member of a...'team' of sorts as well. We considered ourselves to be freedom fighters, going into battle to free all of mankind from the tyranny of the dragons. My heritage as a Dragonborn gives me a unique advantage against dragon-kind, so I would often venture out alone. My overconfidence proved to be my undoing, however, when the ones known as 'Crey' abducted me from my world and brought me here." He could tell that he had their rapt attention.

Over the next few hours he went over a few lies about his past that he had devised to hide his true intentions. Sprinkled with bits of truth, he led them to believe that he had been a valiant hero, fighting against the dragons with the aid of Gormlaith Golden-Hilt and Hakon One-Eye. It got him thinking, then. Of what his life might have been like if he truly had thrown in with Hakon and the others. What might have been if he had slain Alduin, all those years ago.

Founder's Falls was truly a sight to behold. Huge towers of steel and glass sprung up from the bay, and waterways sprawled out in the place of streets. Numerous bridges and elevated platforms around the buildings allowed for foot traffic, and Miraak marveled at how clean and sleek the place was. It was almost like a city unto itself, dwarfing even the mighty Imperial City in sheer material scale.

They had gotten off of the mono-rail an hour or so ago, and the girls smirked as they saw Miraak's awe at their city. They offered to show him on a brief tour of the area before they brought him to their Headquarters, which they shared with Freedom Phalanx.

They were walking down a bridge to make their way to a place called Williams Square when it happened. Miraak stopped for a moment to appreciate the view of the water, glistening in the light of Earth's single moon. The two girls stopped and waited up for him, but he paid no mind. After an eternity in the alien worlds of Apocrypha and the Shadow Shard, he had learned to appreciate the natural beauty of the world where he found it.

But his reverie was rudely interrupted by a screaming woman from the other side of the bridge. Ms. Liberty and Mynx immediately turned their attention in the direction of the noise, and Miraak sighed at the interruption. They had informed him of the higher-than-average crime rate Paragon City suffered from, which seemed obvious in a city of this size.

They had also informed him of the strict policy against the use of lethal force. He had been confused at that. The guards of Tamriel wouldn't hesitate to cut you open at the slightest hint of resisting arrest, even for minor crimes. He had merely nodded his assent, of course. It wouldn't be prudent to antagonize his sole contacts in this new world for the sake of a few penniless bandits.

'N-No! Please, just leave me alone!" The woman screamed at the top of her lungs. She was struggling against a couple of hooded figures. One was garbed in a gaudy robe of gold and bright blue, with glowing golden eyes and an absurdly tall headdress. He blocked the woman's escape by standing on the corner of the sidewalk platform. The other assailant was similarly dressed, but wore a raiment of gray, white, and light blues. His eyes glowed neon blue, but his headdress was equally voluminous. He also bore two glowing red orbs embroidered upon his belt, from which Miraak could sense faint Magicka.

Hmmph. He could see that this might require his attention. The last thing he needed was for the leader of the City Guard's granddaughter to turn up dead with him on the scene. Especially when things were looking swimmingly for him up to this point. She could probably handle herself, given her position as the captain of a team of heroes, but he would take no chances with his only foothold in this dimension.

"Hey, you two creeps! Leave the lady alone! You've got bigger things to worry about, now!" Shouted Mynx. In the blink of an eye, she was on the blue-and-gold clad wizard. Unfortunately, he proved to be much more resourceful than the mages of Crey.

In the blink of an eye, he encased himself in a whirlwind That spun around his body like a cyclone, with he himself located in the eye of the storm. Mynx was buffeted by a few pieces of trash and some pieces of stone chipped away from the adjacent building. It was a huge tower, and only minimal space was between them and the precipice of the walkway. It left them little room to maneuver. While Mynx was momentarily incapacitated, the cunning blue-and-gold wizard let fly a volley of lightning bolts from his hands! They struck the feline heroine dead in the chest, and she fell to the hard pavement.

_Not good... _Miraak thought. Ms. Liberty was fairing little better. He turned to see that she had been encased in a block of ice, and was struggling to break free. Her head remained exposed though, so the wizard in white prepared a spell of his own, no doubt planning to execute his trapped victim before she managed to escape her icy prison.

Miraak needed to do something, common _hedge mages_ were about to _ruin everything_... Time to demonstrate why the dragons had feared him...why Mora had chosen him to be his champion.

**"WULD!"**

It was more of a quick yell than a true shout, but it served his purpose. It propelled him to the end of the bridge where Ms. Liberty was encased in ice, which he could already see the cracks forming in. He would have to end this quickly if he wanted to take all of the credit for saving the day once again. Such a move would serve to cement their opinions of him as a hero and trustworthy ally. A quick bolt of fire burst from his hands as he quickly summoned a good portion of his Magicka reserves. Simultaneously, he threw down a lightning rune in the ground before the blue-robed wizard. Such runes were difficult to spot if they were not of your own creation. He wondered whether such wizards as these had even seen a proper rune in their lives. He very much doubted it. Only true amateurs would dress in such gaudy and flamboyant clothing that screamed out their mysticism so.

The firebolt intercepted the ice mage's spell as he threw it in a gambit to finish off Ms. Liberty quickly. Steam filled the air before the mage as the shards of ice he threw melted away in an instant, even as the firebolt continued on it's course straight into the wizard's still-extended palms. The results were predictably agonizing as he screamed in pain and doubled over, gripping his scorched hands together. Miraak smirked at the amateur wizard's foolishness.

"Y-you have no idea what you have done, interloper! You will rue the day you crossed the Circle of Thorns!" Miraak rolled his eyes at pretentiously grandiose name these bargain-basement maleficars had selected, and merely let his arms fall to his sides as the enraged wizard charged at him, all thoughts of Mynx forgotten in his anger, straight into the lightning rune.

Miraak saw an explosion of sparks from his peripheral vision, and new that the mage had foolishly charged right into his cleverly placed rune of lightning. He had deliberately undercharged it, only using about a third of the required magicka, just as he had done with his firebolt. The result was a spell that was much weakened, but could be cast almost instantaneously. The blue wizard was probably out cold now, having been sufficiently fried to keep him down for awhile without killing him. The ice mage's hands had been badly burned, rendering his threat negligible as he writhed on the ground. Still, Miraak walked over and casually knocked him out with a swift kick to the temple.

He checked Mynx to see if she had survived her shock. As a pleasant surprise, she was merely unconscious. Perhaps she was made of hardier stuff than was readily apparent. Ms. Liberty had freed herself already, but had downcast eyes as she was shamed by needing to be rescued for the second time in a single night. Miraak contemplated saying nothing, but decided against it. It would be best to take full advantage of this opportunity.

"Are you unharmed? The civilian appears to have fled." The woman had fled after the two girls momentarily distracted the gaudily dressed wizards. Miraak was honestly very underwhelmed by the apparent combat prowess displayed by the Vindicators so far…or lacktherof. Mynx was beginning to stir on the ground as she rubbed the back of her head to shake off the unconsciousness. Ms. Liberty helped her up.

"I can't believe we got our butts kicked by a couple of thorn casters…today really isn't our day." Mynx said, still a little wobbly on her feet. Miraak silently agreed.

"They seemed…different somehow." Ms. Liberty thought out loud. "I've never seen thorn casters use spells like that before. But they were definitely dressed as 'casters." She trailed off there.

He supposed that they had been more competent than the run of the mill hedge wizard from his word, but still hardly imperial battlemages. Certainly no match for a sorcerer such as himself.

"So…" He drawled. "Do we arrest them, or something?"

"R-right!" Ms. Liberty finally snapped out of it and remembered to do her job. She took out some sort of strange wrist-held device, which folded out to project a light of some kind on the two unconscious mages.

"It's called a police scanner. All of the registered heroes around here carry one. We use 'em to monitor crimes in progress or review clues in an ongoing investigation. They also carry a built in medi-porter connected to the prison network, where the cops take over after any wounds the bad guys might've sustained are taken care of." So it allowed for heroes to make several arrests in a few minutes while more mundane officers handled the menial tasks, freeing up the more powerful heroes to continue making further arrests. It actually sounded like a very efficient system. He found his respect for the cities law enforcement department growing, if only a little.

"I see. Perhaps we should search for the woman and question her?" He asked, if only to appear to care about the case. Wizards often needed ingredients, or bodies to experiment with if they dabbled in necromancy. Most likely they were simply looking to the nearest available source; the citizens of Paragon City.

But Ms. Liberty shook her head after the blue light emanating from her wrist-device encompassed the second wizard, leaving nothing behind as the unconscious body vanished through a miniature portal. "She's long gone by now. We usually leave the follow up investigation to PPD, the non-powered law enforcers here. The circle of thorns probably just needed some new muscle, and they were 'recruiting'" She explained.

Mages recruiting through coercion? That seemed odd. Many a disenfranchised apprentice would in his time would've loved to study under a master capable of performing the feats he had seen those two wizards achieve. Many of them would have also been attracted to the mystique of magecraft and wizardry, which he had assumed to be the purpose of their overly-intricate robes.

"Well…" Mynx smiled mischievously. "At least we know you're not a member of the Circle, now!" She chirped.

…

"You thought that I was one of _them?!_" He asked, offended beyond all belief. To even _think_ of comparing the First Dragonborn to those third-rate mages was preposterous. He cursed himself as he had momentarily lost control of his usually monotone voice, ascending into a higher pitch for his terse query.

"I have more magic in my little finger than those _morons_ have in the entirety of their souls! The blue-clad one didn't even know the first thing about runes, and the white one has yet to grasp the idea that fire typically melts through ice!" He ranted for a moment, before he remembered himself. He needed to maintain his cool in this situation, lest he let slip some inconvenient bit of information to the wrong people. Such behavior was unbecoming of his age.

It was quiet for a moment as they processed his spiel, but they eventually seemed to just take it in stride. He was thankful that they did not overly question his claims. Although in hindsight, he supposed that he had acquitted himself rather well in the only two times they had seen his magic in action.

"Well…since we're all done here, it'd probably be best to get back to HQ. We can probably find somewhere for you to sleep in the guest quarters." And with that, the three of them took off towards the Freedom Phalanx base of Founder's Falls.

* * *

The HQ was a huge building, even compared to the rest of the Falls. It was held up by white marble columns, and built in stone. It more resembled a familiar sort of castle rather than the towers that surrounded it. The interior was equally impressive, with a massive lobby that had what must have been the Freedom Phalanx symbol emblazoned on the tiled floor. There were personnel and guards up and about, even at this hour. They all wore uniforms of red and white, with stylized stars of the opposite color serving as their emblem. They all carried heavy, black, mechanical looking weapons. A few of them eyed Miraak with suspicion, but cooled off when they saw who he was following.

The two Vindicators had shown him up the stairs into a stately looking room, which reminded him of the opulence that reminded him of the Blue Palace in Solitude. It had a fine carpet with intricate patterning, several expensive pieces of finely crafted furniture, a vanity, even a queen sized bed, complete with curtains.

"Surely you have something less…tacky?" He deadpanned.

Ms. Liberty smiled apologetically, but Mynx interjected. "Sorry! Manticore was the interior decorator…" Miraak had no idea who this 'Manticore' was, except that he clearly did not live up to his namesake. This looked less the den of a mythical beast and more the bedchambers of a spoiled imperial noble.

"It will do, I suppose. I…thank you, for providing me with shelter." He said, careful to keep a neutral tone.

"We'll let you get some rest now. You must be exhausted after everything that happened today. The others will want to meet you in the morning, too." Miraak nodded as they bid him good-night. He would be interested in meeting more of these 'heroes' on the morrow. But they were right about him being tired. He plopped down on the comfortable bed, and drifted off to sleep for the first time in the what must have been centuries. He dreamed of the many sights and sounds he had taken in of this brave new world, in scant few hours. He could see a bright future ahead of himself.

The next morning, Miraak opened his eyes to the greeting of warm sunlight. The room was illuminated by the solar rays that flooded in through open curtains, producing a wide beam of concentrated light that engulfed Miraak's sleeping form. He woke up with a yawn beneath the heavy golden mask he had worn to sleep the night before, and found himself sweating in the heat of his heavy robes.

Looking around, he found himself in the same room as the previous night, but now brightly lit by the morning sun. It showed the colors of the room in a new light, but still retaining the elegance of it's design. Miraak heard himself scoff at the absurdity of sleeping in such luxurious accommodations, especially after hundreds of years of sleeping in Nordic ruins or his spartan chambers in Apocrypha.

It didn't matter. He had no possessions save the clothing on his back and the mask on his face. It suited him well enough. The only things he really missed of his previous life were the sword and staff, ironically being gifts from Hermaeus Mora. Obviously Mora had not allowed him to retain those during his imprisonment in the Shadow Shard. Most likely, the Last Dragonborn was even now wielding them in Miraak's place as Mora's Champion.

Perhaps he would find a sword of sufficient power to suit his needs in this world. After all, they were much more technologically advanced, here. They had probably discovered new alloys and metals, more advanced techniques of forging iron and steel. It may not compare to the Daedric blade he had wielded as a servant of Mora, but Miraak was certain that he could find something to suit his needs well enough, here. _After all_, he thought. _They cannot have abandoned the sword entirely, no matter how advanced they have become in magic or technology. Even the Dwemer used blades._

He wandered around the compound for a while after taking leave of his temporary living arrangements. The first thing he noticed was all of the new people. Compared to the relative emptiness of the previous night, the building was now teeming with military personnel. Men and women garbed in form-fitting red and white uniforms busied themselves in the day-to-day tasks required of running an organized military outfit. Another thing he noticed was the presence of civilians in the area as well. People in plain clothing without any visible weapons were going about their business as well, organizing papers, chatting with each other, hauling metal carts, and other such clerical work. Many of them conversed with the red-and-white soldiers.

He took note that none of the soldiers wore any blades that he recognized. Many wore boxy and angular weaponry that reminded him distinctly of the firing mechanism of crossbows, but without any bow in sight. In any case, they were obviously projectile weapons, and apparently powerful enough to warrant being used as primary equipment in place of melee weapons. Miraak himself was rather disappointed with that possibility. He had never practiced with a bow, only the sword. He could doubtlessly pick up the skill quickly enough to become proficient in a relatively short amount of time, but it would never equate his mastery of the sword, and there were bound to be more experienced marksmen amongst the denizens of this world.

Mixed in with the soldiers and civilians were more of the 'hero' types. Irregularly dressed in bright colors and coming in all shapes and sizes. The two Vindicators he had met yesterday had explained to him that heroes in Paragon City were from all walks of life, unlife, and even from other worlds such as himself. They were a truly diverse bunch, counting among their membership scientific geniuses, werewolves, mages such as himself, beings from other planets, and even ordinary soldiers or the like, or untrained civilians who happened to find a mystical artifact or were involved is some kind of alchemical accident that granted them powers above and beyond ordinary men. Whatever the case, a hero was simply an extraordinary person who used their talents or abilities for the common good of their society, protecting their city from whatever threat may arise. From what they had told him, such threats included 'heroes' who used their extra-normal abilities for less charitable purpose. Villains, in other words. People like him.

He was certainly glad that he had not murdered the two Vindicators as soon as he saw them in that Crey lab now. They had provided him with a wealth of information, and a way to get his foot in the door of Paragon City. Doubtlessly they were impressed with the power he had displayed on two occasions the night before, and now wished to induct him into their little group of law-enforcers. Not a single day spent in this new world, and already he was offered a position of power and authority. He didn't know what god or Daedra was responsible for this stroke of good fortune, but he doubted that it had anything to do with Mora. Perhaps the squid had done something to irk Sheogorath or some such, and Miraak had been freed out of mad spite. It would hardly be outside of the mad-god's nature.

As he was observing the hustle and bustle of the daily comings and goings of the Freedom Phalanx HQ, he almost failed to notice his host walk over to join him by the safety rails he was leaning over to observe the lower floor.

"Oh, hey. I was just going to wake you up, but I see you decided to go exploring." Ms. Liberty said to him by way of greeting. He turned to face her, and saw that she was also still in her Vindicator uniform. He supposed it was unsurprising, as the costume was too flimsy to provide any real protection. Now that he thought about it, though, perhaps she was a mage like him, and used wards or spells to protect herself. But that would hardly explain why she alone among the people of this new dimension he had thus far met actually wore a sword, small though it was.

"Yes. Your organization seems to count many heroes and soldiers amongst their members." He gestured to the crowd on the floor the walkway they stood on overlooked.

She made a dismissive gesture with a gloved hand. "Oh! Most of those guys aren't actually members of Freedom Phalanx. The heroes are considered 'Associate Members'. We can call on 'em if something's too big for our team to tackle, but they mostly operate on their own." That reminded him of the methods of the old Imperial Mage's Guild. Stuffy old frauds, the lot of them. They had no idea the true power of magic. Bound to Apocrypha as he was at the time, Miraak could only smirk with smug satisfaction as he watched the guild burn in the advent of the King of Worms during his migration to Cyrodiil.

"The guys in the red and white uniforms are in Freedom Corps. They're involved in a lot of emergency and rescue operations in the city, but they're armed in case they have to take down a bad guy or two. The military arm of Freedom Corps is the division I founded, Longbow." She said proudly. Miraak raised an eyebrow at that statement. If it was true, then she would be the one in command of most of the organizations firepower. It would be well to cultivate an amiable relationship with her if such was the case. He nodded his acknowledgement, and followed her when she turned to go.

"I wanted you to meet some of the others who're on-base right now. It's a shame that Infernal and Swan are held up on a mission, right now. They would've loved to meet another magic origin as strong as you." So…there were other wizards associated with the Vindicators. He was skeptical that they were of like talent to himself in the mystical arts, but then again nothing was impossible in a completely alien world. His defeat at the hands of the Last Dragonborn was bitter medicine to his arrogance. He would do well not to underestimate any of his future opponents.

Ms. Liberty continued with her speech. "But so far Malaise, Valkyrie, Luminary, and Aurora Borealis are all here and accounted for, and eager to meet you. You've already met Mynx." He nodded. The girl who dressed as a cat was difficult to forget. She had an annoyingly bubbly personality to his mind, but he would earn no friends here by saying as much, so he held his tongue. She was like a wellspring of positive energy and youth, both resources that had long been exhausted in himself. A younger Miraak might have found her presence refreshing, or at least condescendingly amusing. As it was, he was merely irritated by her naïveté. She knew nothing of the world, of the horrors men would visit upon each other. He could tell merely from her excruciatingly immature attitude and curiosity that she was as green as they come. She would be in for a rude awakening one day, just as Miraak himself was, the day his lord turned on him.

They came to a stop in front of a strange set of double doors, cast in stainless steel. Above them were two arrows, pointing down and up. The arrow pointed upwards glowed brilliant green, and the doors opened up to reveal a small, boxy compartment filled with mirrors on all sides. Ms. Liberty entered the tiny room, so Miraak followed her, with some hesitation. Ms. Liberty seemed to notice his confusion, so she explained the idea behind what she called an elevator. Miraak was of course familiar with similar devices employed by the Dwemer throughout their ruins, but such platforms were always big, hulking things that shook the very foundations their underground cities were built upon as they rose or fell at great speeds. Compared to that, the ride a mere five stories up was somewhat...underwhelming.

They then walked down a hallway into an open area, through a wide doorway without any doors, and into some kind of meeting area. A huge table took up most of the room, smack in the center, and enormous windows made up the walls as the cityscape could be clearly seen from the inside. Most interesting, though, were the people who sat around the table. All of the seats were identical, and the table was perfectly round, so there was no 'head' to speak of, although he noted an empty seat furthest from the door that most likely served that purpose.

Seated closest to the left window was a man in garish, swirling purple hues with dark colors thrown in the pants and a mix of deep blue blended in with the shirt. His colors reminded him of the sphere of magic that would appear in his hands whenever he prepared a spell of conjuration. The man grinned at him haughtily, and wore a goatee upon his chin. His hair was done up in a short ponytail.

Most troubling, though, were his eyes. Miraak could not see them beneath the polarized lenses of his electric blue tinted goggles. When he still served the dragons, he had received advice from his master, Durnevhiir. Never trust one whose eyes you cannot see, he had said. Given the masks all dragon priests wore, and Durnevhiir's somewhat unique "survival" among the dragons, his message could most probably be taken at face value.

Next to him was a woman seemingly cast in gold. Miraak would have thought her a statue had her eyes not moved to follow them as they entered the room. Her eyes were illuminated with a light-green glow, reminding him of the color of spriggans. Intricate patterns were embedded in the woman's skin, and parts of her seemed to be attached to the rest, like some sort of assembled person. If she even was a person. Miraak took note of her unflinching stare, and of how she displayed no readily visible breathing.

A distinctly Nordic-looking woman was seated next on the other side, after having skipped over the 'head' of the table, where he suspected Ms. Liberty usually sat. The woman wore magnificent golden armor and wielded a huge spear, as well as wearing an intricate golden headdress with decorative wings mounted on the sides. She could have passed for a Skaal were it not for her manner of dress. She was also smiling warmly at him, something he doubted few of the Skaal would be want to do.

Seated to the woman's right was Mynx, one of the Vindicator's he had rescued the previous night. She was grinning toothily, but her eyes took away any sting to show she only meant it good-naturedly. Miraak rolled his eyes beneath his mask.

Lastly, the woman next to Mynx was dark-skinned, and probably could have passed for a redguard if not for the silvery hair. Her costume was even more distracting than Mynx's; her skin-tight, cream colored outfit was literally full of holes, revealing patches of skin at her chest, stomach, thigh, and arms. She had metallic rings around the base of her limbs, and wore metallic ribs around her waist like a belt. She regarded him somewhat neutrally.

All of them seemed to be studying him, looking to see what they could learn from his countenance. It was a futile effort, as his mask blocked any tells they could determine from his face. For his part, he merely kept his head straight as his eyes surveyed the room and kept his hands held together behind his back. The horizontal slits in the eyes of his mask actually allowed for excellent peripheral vision, and he could see the entire room by standing near the entrance. Ms. Liberty addressed the assembled heroes.

"Everyone, this is Miraak. He's the one who, uh...saved us last night."

At that the hero known as Malaise probably raised an eyebrow, but the only thing visible was a toothy grin that seemed to revel in the humor of the situation at the expense of Ms. Liberty.

"Yeah, you told us how a couple' a thorn casters took you and Mynx to school, till our new buddy here opened up a can of magical whoop-ass on 'em." Malaise chuckled, and punctuated his words by making boxing gestures with his hands, assuming a mock hand-to-hand stance from his seated position. He clearly found the whole incident fairly amusing.

"Hey!" Mynx interjected. "They were _way_ too strong to be regular 'casters! I've never seen one of them use a storm like that..." She defended her ineptitude. Miraak felt no sympathy for one who was floored by such a parlor trick. He only regretted that he had been forced to spare their meagre lives in order to maintain his cover as a 'hero'.

Ordinarily, he took a sort of relish in the anguish and suffering of his enemies. They were agonizingly educated in the foolishness of their resistance against his power. His temple had been filled with the remains of his many enemies, to serve as a warning to his servants and minions. To betray Miraak was to court hell.

He spoke none of this aloud, of course, and simply watched quietly at the unfolding scene before him. This was a rowdy group of children he had found himself minding, but perhaps he could ingratiate himself with "Freedom Phalanx' if he replicated further incidents in kind with the previous night. Ms. Liberty had informed him of the Vindicator's status as former and current apprentices to Freedom Phalanx's core members. It would behoove him to cultivate an amiable relationship with traditional authorities in Paragon City in order to smooth the way for himself. Things would be far easier and a lot less risky for him if he had friends in high places before he made any moves to establish a power base for himself here.

He took note that the woman with the revealing attire and dark skin maintained her silence throughout the banter, opting instead to observe much like himself. However, it was obvious to his experienced eye that she was watching him in the corner of her eyes, inconspicuously watching his every movement. It would seem that he has peaked her interest.

She was more than she seemed, that was for certain. The way she held herself, coolly observing the conversation yet remaining aloof from becoming fully engrossed in it. She was clearly more experienced and jaded than the younger heroes, and perhaps took his somewhat ghastly appearance at face value. He would have to ensure that he made no overtly suspicious movements around this woman. She seemed to be on the verge of outright studying of him, and yet maintained a demeanor of outward disinterest. He made a note to himself to approach her later, in private if possible. She bore further investigation, even more so than the other Vindicators. He did not dare risk the use of his Bend Will shout upon her, lest she possess greater than typical willpower and break free long enough to inform anyone of his treachery. But he knew other ways to influence people. He was had learned much about people during his very long life. He had long since learnt that developing a friendly relationship was a simple matter with just about anyone so long as you were careful to _never_ arouse their suspicion. Even the most paranoid cynic can be placated with a complete lack of evidence of any wrongdoing, along with a tongue cast in silver. So far Miraak was in possession of both. So long as he maintained his present course, all he had to do was sit back and let nature take it's course.

"You two should mind your manners. We do have company after all..." The golden-clad spearwoman contributed to the conversation. They had been mildly bickering and lightly teasing. Miraak suspected that there was some history between Mynx and the man clad in the purple-and-blue blend.

"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Valerie Kellum, but I am more commonly known as Valkyrie." Miraak recognized the term, surprisingly. Valkyries were an obscure Nordic myth, which predated even himself. They were the warrior-maidens of Sovngarde, who defended Shor's hold while their men went off to war. It was an old tale, and he had only found hints and notes in a few of the many ancient tomes he had scoured during his time in Apocrypha. Perhaps there were more similarities this world had to his own than was previously apparent.

"Malaise." Said the man with the blue and purple costume. He regarded Miraak with a cocky grin beneath goggled eyes. "I'm the finesse in this outfit. Infernal may be able to bench a station wagon, but I can fry somebody's brains from ten blocks away and be back in time for breakfast!" Miraak found himself paying rapt attention despite himself. It would be a good idea to learn the various abilities of his new allies before he even _began_ to formulate any plans, and it seemed they were volunteering the information themselves. It was certainly telling of their naïveté that they were perfectly willing to share their strengths and weaknesses with someone they just met for the sole reason that he had saved some of their friend's lives.

"I am Luminary. It is a pleasure to meet you." The golden statue-woman with the glowing eyes stated politely. She maintained eye contact with him despite the obscuring nature of his mask's horizontal eye slits, seeming to conform to social norms perfectly. Her stare was somewhat uncomfortable, but he had endured far worse in his time. Employing Draugr as minions tends to desensitize one to such things.

Miraak turned his vision to the last Vindicator. She still maintained a neutral expression, but she managed a polite smile as she introduced herself. Her eyes never changed, even for an instant. "Aurora Borealis. I'm the most recent addition to the team." She concluded with a trivial bit of information, so as not to seem unfriendly, most likely. Now it was his turn in this little game.

"I...am Miraak." He hesitated for a moment. "It means 'Allegiance Guide.'" His name was somewhat ironic given his relationship with his former Dragon masters, as well as Hermaeus Mora. Still, he could tell that he had their undivided attention. Even the rambunctiously inclined Malaise kept his peace. Ms. Liberty had hitherto maintained silence in order to allow her teammates the opportunity to introduce themselves, and had been reclining against the window-wall.

The conversation was now at an impasse. No one said anything to alleviate the awkward moment, and it became obvious that they were waiting for him to divulge further information about himself. He supposed he made sense, given that he was meeting them all for the first time and that they already knew each other well enough. Now was not the time to arouse any suspicions about his past, so he mentally went over the spiel he had given Ms. Liberty and Mynx about his past and his arrival here in Paragon City and Rhode Island.

So he told them about his harrowing journey through a portal he had been investigating while out on 'patrol' in his old world. He told them of Hakon, Gormlaith, and Feldir. How they had all been friends and allies fighting against the tyranny of their Dragon overlord's who sought to enslave all of mankind. They listened in fascination and indignation as he told them of how the Crey had attempted to imprison him as soon as he breached the portal, but he had been able to fight them off in the ensuing struggle. The fire that consumed the buildings and killed all of the Crey had been the result of one of their armored soldiers ("Power Tanks", Ms. Liberty deducted) loosed a reckless shot from his gauntleted hands that hit the portal's power supply, causing an intense explosion. Miraak had just barely managed to escape the blast zone, and was on his way to get help when he ran in to Ms. Liberty and Mynx.

He could tell that all of them, even the originally skeptical Aurora Borealis, had bought his lie. When elaboration from Mynx and Ms. Liberty about his 'heroic' dousing of the fire with 'awesome' frost breath seemed to confirm his side of the story, they believed themselves to have a clear idea of his origins. Valkyrie herself had been the result of Crey interference, as had Mynx, surprisingly. It would seem that Crey got into mischeif on an extremely regular basis, distinguishing themselves with vast resources and completely amoral attitude towards scientific discovery. He could almost respect them had it not been for their ineptitude.

"What I want to know is how you managed to easily subdue two members of the Circle of Thorns who had managed to incapacitate Mynx and Ms. Liberty." Said Aurora. She looked at him inquisitively, with a hint of a challenge on her smooth features, along with a raised eyebrow. He realized with indignation that she was questioning his ability to defeat a couple of hack mages simply because they had been able to get the better of the two _girls_ who had rushed in blindly at an enemy that had unknown capabilities. It certainly reflected poorly on Ms. Liberties leadership skills, at least.

Of course, he doubted that questioning Ms. Liberty's leadership skills would earn him any friends at this stage, so he held back his instinctive response. Deception came easily to him, and he merely described the most logical conclusion if he disregarded his far greater power than the two young women who had been all but vanquished.

"I am a fairly competent sorcerer." He stated. Not quite arrogantly, but matter-of-factly enough that it was shy of any true humility. He was, after all, one of the most powerful wizard's in all of Tamriel, even discounting his superior Dragonborn heritage. "However, I arrived a few moments behind Ms. Liberty and Mynx, who had drawn the attention of the two mages to themselves. I managed to get the best of them because of the opportunity created by them. It was not an individual accomplishment." He elaborated. Aurora seemed almost surprised by his response. Perhaps she had grown used to childish grandstanding or some such behavior from Malaise. Much could be said of the fact that he could easily imagine the man's grandiose and exaggerated speech of personal self-glorification were he in Miraak's place, within minutes of meeting the man.

"Huh. Well mannered _AND_ humble! You could learn a thing or two from him, Malaise." Valkyrie chided her teammate. Miraak observed that Luminary still seated in her chair, who had said altogether the least of any of the Vindicators. She seemed content to merely watch events unfold before her, and Miraak had only taken note of her because her illuminated eyes unceasingly stared at him from across the table. Her teammates had yet to notice.

"Pssh. Whatever. At least I don't need a team of three to take down a couple of 'Casters, even on a bad day." It would seem that 'Casters' are not held in a very high regard as mages.

"It is odd that they managed to actually pose a challenge to the two of you alone." Aurora seemed to think out loud as she held her chin between her index finger and thumb as she looked upwards at something that wasn't there. "Ordinary Thorn Casters shouldn't have the kind of power it'd take to overwhelm you two like that." She explained her reasoning, and then asked a question of us.

"What were they up to? They couldn't have been just wandering around out there, right?"

Ms. Liberty answered her friend, but with a hard and solemn facial expression. "They were trying to kidnap a woman from off of the streets. She ran away before we could really try and talk to her, and the PPD haven't had any missing persons or assault complaints connected to this case. I guess she figured that we would take care of the whole thing..."

Aurora nodded as she got up to stand, and paced back and forth parallel to the center window. "Yeah, sounds like pretty typical suff for the 'Thorns." After visibly weighing her options she seemed to come to a conclusion. "Still, it'd probably be best to put the word out that some of the Thorn Casters might have gone through some kind of power-boosting ritual or something." Miraak resisted the urge to scoff at her display of ignorance to the nuances of complex magic.

"I'll have Swan talk to M.A.G.I. to see if they can look into it when she gets back from her mission with Infernal." Ms. Liberty agreed. "In the meantime, though, I think that we all have something we want to ask our new friend." She said. That caught Miraak off guard. He had only just met these people, what could they have to say to him, really?

"You have distinguished yourself admirably in battle and saved two of our members from death...or worse." Stated Valkyrie. She saluted him by bringing her fist to her armored chest.

"You have certainly proven to be of acceptable skill level, and you managed to save the day twice in one night." Said Aurora pleasantly as she smiled with approval. "I would say that you have already passed any test needed, but..."

Malaise butted in. "Butt nothin'. Any dude who can trip up a Thorn Caster with an electric banana-peel's got my vote!" He was in Miraak's favor for...something, surprisingly enough.

"Yeah! You were really cool when you showed 'em how real heroes do magic! " Mynx interjected with her usual bubbly zeal.

"Well..." Ms. Liberty continued from where she left off before. Miraak was beginning to suspect what this was about. They had certainly taken their time, so they might as well get over it now, he supposed. "After a lot of consideration, and today's meeting, I'd like to ask you to officially join the Vindicators." She finally said, and left it there for him to pick up.

Everything was silent for a moment, until he decided to go for the whole dramatic affair that usually accompanied such things. A little drama in your first appearance was always good for making a memorable moment. He bowed before them in a show of humility. "I...accept your offer. It would be my honor to fight injustice alongside you all. " He said, without a trace of irony. _The honor_, he thinks, _is entirely theirs._

"Great! Then as the leader of the Vindicators, I officially welcome you to the group, Miraak." She proudly exclaimed. Miraak wondered what he had gotten himself into.

* * *

Deep in the bowels of ancient stone beneath Paragon City, far below the very foundations of the old colony lie the ruins of Oranbega. Here they toil, work, eat, and study. The practitioners of magic so black that it chills the heart of any who speak their name. The Circle of Thorns. It is here that they report success to their demon overlords in hopes of favors and blessings in return...or when they report failure, hoping to stay the wrath of their demonic masters. Often a fruitless endeavor.

"You have failed me yet again, Ah'rlek. It has come to the point where I am no longer surprised to see you returning here empty handed once more."

"Y-yes, my lord, b-but we encountered, er, we encountered unforeseen d-d-difficulties, er, my lord..."

The crimson red eyes stared uncaringly down at the wizard Ah'rlek. "I have given you 8 chances thus far to fulfill your end of the bargain we struck those years ago, Ah'rlek. So far my patience has been rewarded exclusively with failure..." The shadow drew back as it's master wizard cringed before it. "The next time shall be your last, until I decide what your fate should be for this humiliating defeat. For now...focus you efforts on this new mage you have mentioned to me. He...must not be allowed to disrupt the scenario. I am too close. I can almost taste the power just waiting at my fingertips..." The shadow seemed to savor that prospect, and shivered over "I trust that you will learn from Sparthicles' mistakes, Ah'rlek." It said, pointing to a grotesque mound of flesh and blood huddled in the corner of the chamber, writhing every so once in a while. "Do not fail me again, Ah'rlek..." He left on that warning note, vanishing into a pile of dust and soot.


End file.
